Sego Lily (Nuttall's Mariposa)

Calochortus nuttallii

Family: Liliaceae – Lily Family

Perennial herbs; stems 3.2” to 1.7' (8 to 50 cm) tall above ground

Leaves: parallel veined; alternate; simple; narrow and grasslike; typically 3 leaves with pointed tip; 0.6” to 3.6” (1.5 to 9 cm) long

Flowers: 3 white, cream or pink/lavender petals with yellow in center; 3 green to purple sepals; commonly petaloid; bisexual; white, pink, or purple; 6 stamens; 1 pistil; radially symmetrical; 1 to 5 flowers; petals 1” to 2.5” (2.5 to 6.3 cm) long

Pollinators: insects

Fruits: 3 chambered capsule

Blooms in Arches National Park: April, May, June

Habitat in Arches National Park: desert shrub, grassland and pinyon-juniper communities

Location seen: Windows road, Windows trail, Salt Valley, Cache Valley, park road just north of junction with Delicate Arch road

Other: The genus name, “Calochortus”, is from the Greek “kalos” which means "beautiful" and “chortos” which means "grass" referring to the leaves. The species name, “nuttallii”, honors Englishman Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859), a botanist, ornithologist, curator of the Harvard Botanic Gardens, and author in 1816 of The Genera of North American Plants .

Sego lily is the state flower of Utah . The bulbs are edible.

Yucca and aloe used to be in this family. The family is extremely complex. Some ornamentals and medicinally useful plants are in this family, but a few species are poisonous.